McColm: Maynard should go Wayland’s way

In the coming weeks we will need to decide whether Capital Group’s latest proposal is the way forward for 129 Parker St. (in Maynard). I believe the nearby “Wayland Town Center” development offers a useful comparison to help us estimate what is a reasonable size for such a ...

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

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Posted May. 2, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 2, 2013 at 2:01 AM

Posted May. 2, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 2, 2013 at 2:01 AM

MAYNARD

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In the coming weeks we will need to decide whether Capital Group’s latest proposal is the way forward for 129 Parker St. (in Maynard). I believe the nearby “Wayland Town Center” development offers a useful comparison to help us estimate what is a reasonable size for such a development, and also see how the deal we are being offered matches up to what others have negotiated.

The Wayland Town Center is a 52+ acre site being developed by KGI Properties LLC, with 177,000 square feet devoted to retail/grocery and office space, 100 residential units, and (possibly) 40,000 square feet of municipal buildings. The 129 Parker street site is 58 acres of land on which our current NBOD zoning allows building 175,000 square feet of retail space and 100 residential units. While not identical these two overlay districts seem rather similar to each other in terms of size. By contrast, the Capital Group proposal, with its 328,000 square feet of retail (nearly double) and 250 residential units (more than double), is the clear outlier.

This comparison begs the question of why it would be necessary, or wise, for Maynard to throw away its current NBOD zoning to allow for the much-larger development Capital Group is requesting. Presumably the argument would be that bigger is always better. I would argue that that is not the case here, however. A bigger development means more traffic to contend with. More housing means more students attending our schools, at substantial cost to our town. More retail space and restaurants located on the site mean more competition for our already-stressed downtown. Larger size caps on retailers (Capital Group wants two at Big KMART-dimensions) opens the door to even more big box retail and the problems - economic, social, and environmental - that go with it.

I have heard some say that this development has to be huge to be economically viable. I question this assertion. Looking once again at Wayland for a comparison, KGI Properties’ original proposal was put forth in the spring of 2005 (asking for 308,000 square feet of retail, incidentally). It was voted on only in the latter part of 2006 and ground wasn’t broken until 2012. KGI Properties hung in there all that time, even through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Presumably they did because it remained economically viable for them to do so, with a development project sized similarly to our current NBOD.

One last comparison I will make is between the various “carrots” offered to the two towns. In Wayland the deal included KGI Properties giving a gift of $3,000,000, plus another $250,000 toward their bike path, and land on which to build a 40,000 square foot municipal building. In Maynard, Capital Group has suggested they may lease or donate a building that is more than 40 years old, has had a leaky roof for some period of time, and will require significant money to repair and maintain annually if it is to be turned into a community or senior center. While I favor our senior citizens having a pleasant community space--they certainly deserve it--I do not want the town to accept an overall bad deal in order to try to make that happen. I also want to say that I am not arguing that we ought to try to get more money from the developer in this deal. Rather, I am trying to point out that the deal that some think is too sweet to pass up, may not be so sweet after all.

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I believe that all of us who live here want what is best for Maynard. For me that means keeping the size of this development and allowed uses reasonable.

Comparing our situation to Wayland’s leads me to conclude that our current NBOD is much more on the mark than any plan the Capital Group has set forth. So when the vote comes on May 19 I will be voting no. As the lawn signs say, we can do better. I hope that we will.

NANCY MCCOLM

Maynard

Sources for this letter include the Capital Group concept plan http://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/documents/129parker-concept-plan-20130401.pdf, the Wayland concept plan